Splash.
Crash—!
At the very instant the Kamui dimension began to open, Uchiha Obito, hidden behind his mask, suddenly heard the roar of rushing water beside his ear.
He froze.
"…Strange. There's no river here. Where's that water sound coming from?"
The next second, he got his answer.
From inside the Kamui space—
An overwhelming torrent of water burst forth!
BOOM!
Like a dam collapsing, an enormous river erupted outward, crashing through the forest and snapping trees in half as it surged forward!
"What the—?!"
Veins bulged beneath Obito's mask.
"Kakashi!!"
"You really turned my Kamui dimension into a trash dump?!"
"Throwing kunai and weapons in there was one thing—now you're pumping WATER into it?!"
"What are you trying to do, huh?! Become the god of irrigation?!"
If Kakashi were standing in front of him right now, Obito would've torn him apart on the spot.
Anger. Rage. Absolute fury.
But across from him—
Uchiha Itachi was even more shocked.
The young man's mouth hung open wide enough to swallow two eggs.
"A Water Release technique I've never seen before…"
"With this scale and volume… at least A-rank."
"Instant cast, no hand seals… This man is far stronger than I imagined."
For a while, nothing existed but the deafening roar of water flooding outward.
Fortunately, this was the Uchiha clan's back mountain.
No civilians.
Only grass, soil, trees—and shattered terrain.
It took a full three minutes before the torrent subsided enough for the two of them to cling to nearby rocks and remain dry.
"To use such a powerful Water Release so casually…"
Itachi surveyed the devastated surroundings and inhaled deeply.
"Your chakra reserves are beyond my expectations."
Effortlessly reshaping the terrain—
This masked man was already approaching Kage level.
And yet… someone like this had slipped into the village unnoticed.
Dangerous.
He had to extract information.
Opposite him—
"Ah? I—"
Obito, who had been mentally cursing Kakashi, suddenly paused.
Wait.
Did this kid just assume that river was my Water Release?
Obito's eye twitched.
Then twitched harder.
After a brief cough, he shamelessly accepted the compliment.
Hands clasped behind his back, he adopted the posture of an enlightened master.
"Correct. That was my Water Release."
"And allow me to formally introduce myself, Uchiha Itachi."
"My name is—Uchiha Madara."
"One hundred meters…"
By the Naka River, a small figure stared at the massive stretch of missing stone and earth in the distance.
Uchiha Kai silently estimated.
"So my current Kamui 'arm-twisting' range is about a hundred meters."
For early-stage shinobi standards, that was already impressive.
Not far off from the legendary eight-hundred-meter shuriken nonsense.
"Hiss—"
Suddenly, pain flared at the corner of his eye.
Sharp.
Tearing.
Like someone had missed Xiao Yanzi and stabbed him in the eyeball instead.
Drip.
Drip.
Only after three full minutes did he clutch his eye and gasp for breath.
When he lowered his hand—
Blood stained his palm.
"So this is the backlash from overusing the Mangekyō…"
"Looks like I really need a stronger physical body."
His Kamui range was about a hundred meters now…
"Wood Release is decent, but Danzo's version is garbage…"
"Where exactly is Orochimaru these days…?"
Muttering to himself, Kai wiped away the blood and turned back toward the clan grounds.
He'd anticipated side effects.
He just hadn't expected them to show up this fast.
As for swapping eyes like USB devices?
Hard pass.
Plugging eyeballs in and out like Wi-Fi adapters—
Wasn't that how you got infections?
More importantly—
Fugaku and Mikoto.
Itachi and Sasuke.
They were blood family.
He wasn't capable of treating them like disposable NPCs.
What Kai didn't realize—
Was that this pain wasn't just Mangekyō strain.
He'd moved far too much water.
Ten minutes later.
The Uchiha compound came into view.
Kai slowed to a stop.
Ahead—
The dry drainage ditch was overflowing.
Water surged past knee-high, roaring outward and dragging grass, stones, and debris along with it.
"Woof! Woof—!!"
A Shiba Inu had been swept into the current.
Paddling frantically, it failed again and again to escape.
Too short.
Too slow.
It wailed as it was carried downstream.
"…Who the hell used such a massive Water Release near here?"
Kai frowned, scooped the dog up, and tossed it onto higher ground.
Then he narrowed his eyes, scanning the area.
There was a ditch here—but no river.
This flood was clearly artificial.
"Absolutely shameless!"
"Using ocean-tier Water Release near residential areas?!"
"I curse you to have a kid with no butthole!"
After venting, he shook his head and walked into the compound.
No sleep all night.
Dark circles were forming.
Rustle… rustle…
Footsteps echoed through the Uchiha grounds.
The not-so-small boy walked calmly forward.
Morning sunlight filtered down, dusting his smiling face with a faint golden glow.
Click.
He opened his door.
The smile froze.
On his bed—
Four beagle-looking dogs were happily tearing his mattress apart.
Bite by bite.
White stuffing covered the room.
East side.
West side.
And somewhere in the middle—
Dog poop.
The air inside had fermented overnight.
The moment the door opened, the accumulated stench rushed out violently.
"Ghh—!!"
Kai bolted back outside, gagging violently.
Covering his nose, dry-heaving with all his might.
Disgusting.
Utterly disgusting.
To people who didn't keep dogs—
This was hell on earth.
After taking more than ten deep breaths, he finally recovered enough to look toward the restroom.
His face darkened completely.
In the entire Uchiha clan—
Only one person could pull something this childish and get away with it.
Sasuke.
"…All I did was introduce you to a few girlfriends."
"That revenge mentality is really something."
Muttering, Kai opened the restroom door and slowly extended his hand toward the sleeping child inside.
"AAAAAAH!! IT HURTS—!!"
That morning—
The Uchiha clan was awakened by a ghost-like scream.
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